This thesis will examine the manner in which Shakespeare drew upon existing sources material to depict a king whose inherent character flaws made him unworthy of his crown.
Poculi Ludique Societas shows how to perform a Christmas play, medieval style
December 15, 2012 By
A Medieval Christmas: Go We hence to Bethlehem’s Bower – playing this weekend in Toronto
A Single Leaf: Tolkien’s Visual Art and Fantasy
December 10, 2012 By
With such a model in mind, then, we have entered into a discussion of art, myth‐making, and the Primary World from a combined academic and artistic perspective.
The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval Representations of Satan
October 30, 2012 By
The ever-evolving, interconnectedness of culture, religion, and superstition make for a truly unique theatrical experience in the middle ages. With limited understanding and access to scripture, medieval Christians generated a blended belief system, in order to make sense of the metaphysical world, which manifests itself in medieval drama‟s representations of Satan.
Medieval Snuff Drama
October 29, 2012 By
Did an onstage execution really take place in 1549 in the city of Tournai or not?
The Talking Brass Head as a Symbol of Dangerous Knowledge in Friar Bacon and in Alphonsus, King of Aragon
September 2, 2012 By
The talking brass heads in Greene’s plays are descendants of two ancient traditions that became intermingled during the Middle Ages
Places to Hear the Play: The Performance of the Corpus Christi Play at York
August 19, 2012 By
At the beginning of the tradition, the pageants were linked to the religious procession on Corpus Christi Day. In the city og York this procession was organised by the Corpus Christi Guild as a separate event from the celebration of the minister.
The Middle Ages after the Middle Ages. Medievalism in the Study of European Drama and Theatre History
August 15, 2012 By
If we are going to acknowledge the afterlife of medieval genres, subject matters, motifs and techniques, three methods of research are preferable: 1. looking for simple continuity, 2. taking into account residual afterlife of medieval items in popular culture including folklore, and 3. recognizing the phenomena of the renewal of medieval genres in later ages.
“Of all creatures women be best, / Cuius contrarium verum est:” Gendered Power in Selected Late Medieval and Early Modern Texts
August 14, 2012 By
While conjugal love was encouraged by the medieval Church, chastising women by their husbands was commonly practised in the late medieval and early modern periods.
The Use of the Rhetorical Exordium in Middle English Drama
July 17, 2012 By
In this paper I wish to single out one group of Middle English writings, the mediaeval drama, to examine more closely the interesting applications of the doctrine as exhibited in the “banns” of the miracle plays and of certain moralities, and in the traditional prologues, but es pecially in the more “organic” solutions arrived at by the authors of Man kind and Everyman.
Gender and Violence in the Northern French Farce
June 24, 2012 By
I will briefly examine here the identity of farce’s violent characters and their victims, as well as the deviant behaviors punished by comically violent means, ending with a brief discussion of the social conditions which, in my opinion, may have caused the farce’s target audience to enjoy watching the aggressive correction of certain types of antisocial behavior in the century following the Hundred Years’ War.
Medieval Mystery Plays: Cain and Abel
June 16, 2012 By
Medieval mystery plays were cycles of plays, covering salvation history from the Creation to the Last Judgment, which were performed in England during the late Middle Ages.
Craftsmanship of the Digby Mary Magdalene play
April 27, 2012 By
The Digby Mary Magdalene is contained in the Digby MS. 133 of the Bodlein Library. Included in the Manuscript are three other plays, Killing of the Children, The Conversion of St Paul, and a portion of Wisdom.
A historiographical and artistic survey of confraternities from the later Middle Ages to the early Renaissance
April 17, 2012 By
Overall, the analysis will allow for a closer examination of not just the culture of a particular confraternity, but also the cultural values, ideals, and practices of an entire community in one period of time. Furthermore, the examination of confraternal artwork will prove important, as it will demonstrate the unique power of confraternities.
A Reassessment of the Feast of Fools: A Rough and Holy Liturgy
March 18, 2012 By
A younger contemporary of Richard of St.-Victor, Jean Beleth (fl. 1160), acknowledged the popular name of the feast: “The feast of the subdeacons, which we call ‘of fools’, by some is executed on the Circumcision, but by others on Epiphany or its octave.’
The Medieval Pagent Wagons at York: Their Orientation and Height
February 24, 2012 By
This article considers some physical aspects of the medieval pageant wagons used for the York Cycle. Many modern reconstructions have assumed that the pageants played side-on, but this view rests on assumptions derived from modern theatre, medieval two-dimensional art, or the demands of the open campus locations where many modern performances have taken place.
Christmas traditions and performance rituals: a look at Christmas celebrations in a Nordic context
December 4, 2011 By
This article grew out of a project with our drama students at Bergen University College, Norway, in December 2002. I wanted to introduce the students to pre-Christian roots of Yule, and to give them an historical introduction to extant dramatic/ritual Christmas customs in our country.
Medieval Christmas Celebrations
December 4, 2011 By
Richard and Anne’s first Christmas as king and queen in 1483 was happy, even though they were in London and their only son Edward had to remain at Middleham, too sickly to travel.
The Farce of the Fart – new book offers scandalous plays from medieval France
November 7, 2011 By
They were the sitcoms of their time –– lowbrow comedies that lampooned every serious topic, from sex and relationships to politics and religion
‘I do mistake my person all this while’: Blindness and Illusion in Richard III
October 3, 2011 By
‘I do mistake my person all this while’: Blindness and Illusion in Richard III Rutter Giappone, Krista Bonello (University of Kent) Skepsi: Bad Behaviour in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Volume III, Issue 1, Summer (2010) Abstract The article addresses issues of ‘beyond text’ through a ‘poststructuralist’ reading of Shakespeare’s Richard III and Richard III. […]
Professor earns fellowship to research medieval English morality plays
September 28, 2011 By
Gail McMurray Gibson said that her college professors first sparked her interest in medieval studies. She has pursued that interest and become one of the most inspiring and decorated teachers in Davidson College. She has received the college’s Thomas Jefferson Teaching Award, and was named North Carolina Professor of the Year in 1987 by the […]
Hrotsvit of Gandersheim: Her Works and Their Messages
September 8, 2011 By
Hrotsvit of Gandersheim, a poetess and playwright during the tenth century, created a body of work that both reflected and instructed people in her society.
Ludi Magister: The Play of Tudor School and Stage
August 18, 2011 By
Ludi Magister: The Play of Tudor School and Stage Sullivan, Paul Vincent (The University of Texas at Austin) PhD Thesis, The University of Texas at Austin (2005) Abstract The humanist teaching of rhetoric in early Tudor grammar schools employed dramatic play in several forms, inculcating habits of artful impersonation broadly and deeply across English culture. The […]
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